DAY 21 - CASTILBLANCO DE LOS ARROYOS to ALMADÉN DE LA PLATA - Monday 13 May 2024

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On the way out of Castilblanco de los Arroyos we spotted some storks on the church bell tower - we always love seeing these. The first 11 km of today's walk was along a road, but it was fairly quiet and there were some great views, plenty of bird life and we found our first cork trees, a feature of today. The last 5 km before we entered the Natural Park was on a dirt track, a nice surprise.

The second pleasant surprise was a shelter, at the entrance to the Natural Park. We had a rest and our morning tea before continuing along the track through the cork trees. Not long afterwards, we met another walker, this one from Spain. He told us that although this was his first time on the Via de la Plata, he had walked the Camino Norte 25 years ago.

We continued through undulating country, stopping at a pleasant waterhole with many flitting red and blue dragonflies. The cork gave way to scrub and then pine trees. We found another walker resting on the path under a tree, who gave a lazy wave as we passed. 

The walk finished with a steep but short climb to a lookout, which gave great views of the area we had traversed. There was then a sharp descent to the village of Almaden de la Plata, our stop for the night. 

Leaving Castilblanco de los Arroyos 
The first 11 kilometres was on a quiet country road
Cork oak tree, cow, and Australian long-distance walker
The entrance to the Parque Natural Sierra Norte de Sevilla
Walking among the cork oaks and holm oaks in the Parque Natural
Treescapes in the Parque Natural
Flowers
Dragonfly
Still in the Parque Natural
A bit of a hill 
Impressive views back to where we had walked today
A short downhill to Almadén de la Plata to finish the day's walk
Birds
Day 21 - Map

Day:                               21
Distance:                      30.25 km
Walking time:               6 hrs 17 mins
Elevation gain:             704 metres
Cumulative distance:  373.93 km

Comments

  1. Murray and Sandra17 May 2024 at 20:52

    30+km a very big day! Did you get any blisters?
    My thoughts on the birds: House Martin, White Stork, don’t know, pied Flycatcher?, looks distinctive but I don’t have any idea, white Storks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aussie Slow Travellers18 May 2024 at 07:34

      There have been a few blisters, luckily we brought a good medical kit. We do like the storks!

      Delete
  2. The Howies18 May 2024 at 07:04

    Ouch, my feet are sore looking at all that traversing! Great shots of today's walks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aussie Slow Travellers18 May 2024 at 07:36

      We're certainly happy to put our feet up at the end of the day! Thanks!

      Delete

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